Well first off, I won't be able to give you as much info as when I was out in Salym, as the work here is rather a lot more confidential. But I will give you as much as I can.
The rig here is a lot bigger than the ones I have been on previously! It also does not have a staircase up the derek (the pointy bit) but a rather exposed ladder, so I am not feeling the photos from the monkey board this time...
It is also rather a lot dirtier, partly due to the drilling mud used (it is oil-based mud which makes the whole thing a lot stickier and messier than water-based) but also to the crew not taking as much care of their work environment.
I get quite a different feel from the team here, definitely not as integrated as what one might expect on a rig, but they seem to be working on it and slowly improving.
Last night we had a meeting about logging with the 2 DSVs, Toolpushers and Wellsite engineers (Day&Night shifts) where I got to explain the plan and quizzed about the pressure testing in the well. On the whole I enjoyed that, as I felt I knew what I was talking about though it felt strange getting used to this new position - ie Town come to the Rig, rather than completely part of the team. However, I am trying to work on that one :-)
I am the only woman on the rig, all the cleaners and cooks here are male too. I was wondering how that would pan out over here but so far it hasn't been much of an issue. Except for the night DSV who thought he could talk over me after asking a question for the geologist, and generally fits the description of a mysoginistic so-and-so. But I managed to deal with that, feeling that everyone else was actually 'on my side'.
That's it for now, enjoyed some Christmas pudding today, shared with Andrew (wellsite geo) and Scott (Scottish mud guy) as well as Doug (canadian toolpusher). By the way there is a huge number of different nationalities on this rig, which I think is pretty unusual-I've got to 17!!
The rig and camp are separate, about 10-15mins' walk or a quick car ride, which apparently is usual for HPHT rigs (keeping most people/living quarters at a distance in case of problems). I am lucky to have got a room at the rig, which means I can roll out of bed in the morning without it being too painful :-) and fall asleep to the purring of the rig. I had almost forgotten the permanent noise of a rig and how comfortable that sound becomes (silence = problem!)
The desert here is so flat and empty it makes the moon seem positively exciting (well, you know, other than being in space and stuff). Next time we need to pick one of the other deserts here for our well location!! But it is a really strange feeling, the rig looks really exposed in the middle of nowhere - haven't even seen any animals or anything, just a couple of flies on the rig. A few pylones are visible on the horizon...I think. Or it could be a mirage. Who knows!
Even the darkness looks different. On the walk over to camp from the rig for dinner last night, I noticed the horizon looked really dark and well...it's a very hard thing to describe, empty darkness...
I am really enjoying taking it all in and transposing my experiences into the Arabic/Libyan version. My ear is still automatically straining to hear Russian but I am trying to learn a few bits of Arabic here, I already know how to say 'crazy old man' ;-)
That's it for now, I am off to take some photos if I can find someone who will lend me a camera...
Here are some photos of our Christmas Dinner last night :
Decorations
The Toolpusher's plastic tree (it had flashing lights :-)
A royal spread...and two amazing huge turkeys!!
1 comment:
Well done,you finally got there. Canteen looks nicely prepared as well. No desert dogs on the horizon I suppose.
Post a Comment